#BYPBookclub: Taking Up Space by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi

Mar 28, 2020

This month, we've got our first Merky Books title on the BYP Book of the Month list and it comes from Cambridge graduates, Chelsea and Ore, who have written the ultimate 'black girl's manifesto for change'. From relationships and self-love to navigating white spaces, fitting in and tackling institutions such as higher education, Taking Up Space is an important read for our times.

Navigating white spaces is something everyone in our community has felt at some point. In Taking Up Space, Cambridge graduates Chelsea and Ore talk about what it's like to be a minority in one of the least diverse and institutionally white higher education settings. From talking about getting in, open days and UCAS, to how to survive university when your course is #academiasowhite, and there aren't many spaces for you, this book is truly a survival guide for all black students written by two young women who have done it, survived it and thrived after.

From discussions on desirability and relationships, to managing your mental health, avoiding burnout and not making yourself a martyr just to fight the cause, this is the book I wish I'd had when I first started my degree in 2013. With Chelsea now preparing for a training contract with a city law firm in London and Ore studying a Master's in Journalism at Columbia University, New York, I think we're just seeing the start for these two high achievers.

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